The present invention relates to wellbore servicing systems and methods, and in particular, to systems and methods for remotely activating a downhole tool.
Hydrocarbons are typically produced from wellbores drilled from the surface through a variety of producing and non-producing subterranean zones. The wellbore may be drilled substantially vertically or may be drilled as an offset well that has some amount of horizontal displacement from the surface entry point. In some cases, a multilateral well may be drilled comprising a plurality of wellbores drilled off of a main wellbore, each of which may be referred to as a lateral wellbore. Portions of lateral wellbores may extend substantially horizontal toward the surface. In some production sites, wellbores may be very deep, for example extending more than 10,000 feet from the surface.
A variety of servicing operations may be performed in a wellbore after it has been drilled and completed. One common servicing operation is fluid sampling, which may be undertaken to obtain a fluid sample of the subterranean formation in order to determine the composition, temperature, and pressure of the formation fluids of interest. In a typical sampling procedure, the sample is obtained by lowering a sampling tool into the wellbore on a conveyance, such as a wireline, slickline, coiled tubing, jointed tubing or the like. When the sampling tool reaches the desired depth, the sampling tool is triggered and one or more ports are opened to allow collection of the formation fluids. The ports may be actuated in a variety of ways such as by electrical, hydraulic or mechanical methods. After the sample has been collected, the sampling tool is withdrawn from the wellbore so that the fluid sample may be analyzed at the surface.
Slickline sampling tools are commonly triggered using a timing mechanism that is programmed by an operator at the surface. The operator generally programs the timing mechanism with a generous time window that will allow the sampling tool to reach the predetermined location in the wellbore before being triggered. In programming the timing mechanism, the operator must factor in sufficient prep time, such as, the time that it takes to make up the downhole equipment, the time required to properly pressure test the well, the time required to convey the sampler to the predetermined depth, and the time required to condition the sample flow to suitable conditions, if necessary. Since the time to complete these routine operations is oftentimes an unknown and varies from job to job, the general rule is to program the timing mechanism with a large enough window that compensates for overly long prep time.
However, in cases where prep operations are completed without any setback or delays, the slickline tool can sit at the bottom of the well for hours until the timer finally triggers the sampler as programmed. The time waiting for the timer to trigger equates to several hours of lost rig time which, in turn, equates to substantial losses in operator profits.